This is a crustless milk tart, easy to put together and produces one large (38cm x 26cm) or two medium (28cm x 20cm) tarts.
6 eggs 375ml sugar 90g butter, melted 375ml flour 7,5ml baking powder a pinch of salt 1,5litres of milk 15ml vanilla ground cinnamon
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a 38cm x 26cm ceramic dish with cooking spray. Add the eggs and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Turn the mixer to a low speed and drizzle in the melted butter. Turn off the mixer. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl and turn the mixer back on to a low speed until the ingredients are incorporated. Add the vanilla to the milk and drizzle the milk in to the batter with the engine running. Scrape the batter into the prepared ceramic dish. Bake in the oven for 1 hour. Take the milk tart from the oven and immediately sift over some ground cinnamon. Set aside for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Keep refrigerated.
100g pistacchio nuts, roughly chopped about 16 medium figs 50ml honey
For the pastry: Add the butter and sifted icing sugar to the bowl of a food processor. Run the machine until the mixture is well combined and pasty. Add the flour and pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand. Scrape down. Drizzle a few drops of the egg into the bowl with the engine running. Add a few more drops at a time until the mixture comes together. (You may have egg left and that is okay – the less you need the crispier the pastry!) Shape the pastry into a disc, wrap it with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 190℃. You will use a 22cm loose-bottom flan tin but do not spray or butter the tin! Roll the pastry to a 3mm thickness and line the bottom and sides of the tin. Dock the pastry with a fork and bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove the baking paper and weights/beans and set aside to cool.
For the Crème Pâtissière: Add the corn flour to a mixing bowl. Pour a small amount of the milk into the owl and stir to make a slurry with the corn flour. Add the egg yolks and half the sugar. Whisk by hand until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside. Pour the rest of the milk and the rest of the sugar into a small saucepan. Set over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Take the milk from the heat as soon as tiny bubbles start to appear around the edge of the saucepan. Drizzle the warm mixture onto the egg mixture in a very thin stream while whisking continuously. Now pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place on a medium-low heat. Stir until the mixture is thick and smooth. Allow to cook for about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the mixture into a shallow bowl, place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface and allow to cool completely.
Whisk the mixture by hand once it is at room temperature, until it is smooth. Spoon it into a piping bag and pipe into the prepared pastry shell. Scatter the chopped pistachio evenly over the surface. Cut a cross into the top third of each fig and place the figs side-by-side on the pistachio. Drizzle the honey over the figs before serving.
For the pastry: Add the flour, butter and icing sugar to a food processor and process until the mixture is the size of peas. Whisk the eggs together and with the engine running, add a few drops of the egg at a time until the mixture JUST comes together. Fold and push the pastry together with the heel of your hand until it is smooth. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a 22cm flan tin/loose bottom tart tin with cooking spray. Roll the pastry out to a 3mm thickness and line the bottom and sides of the baking tin. Prick the bottom with the tines of a fork and bake blind – lined with baking paper and baking beans – for 20 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and bake the shell for another 15 minutes. Remove the tart shell from the oven and allow to cool.
For the filling: Turn your oven down to 160℃. Add the chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with simmering water and allow to melt completely. Remove from the heat and set aside. Add the whole egg, the egg yolk, sugar and 170ml cream to a mixing bowl and whisk together. Pour the other 170ml cream into a small saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Remove the cream as soon as it boils and wait one minute. Pour half the cream in a very, very thin stream onto the egg mixture while whisking continuously. Pour slowly, whisk quickly!! Now pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and place over a very low heat. Whisk the mixture until it thickens and has the consistency of custard. Pour the mixture over the melted chocolate, add the vanilla and stir with a spatula until combined. Scrape into the tart shell and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for at least 2 hours before serving.
1 store bought puff pastry 125g cream cheese, I use chive flavoured 250g smoked bacon, cubed/chopped 200g mushrooms, sliced a handful of thyme leaves 5 courgettes, cut into 3-4cm long sticks egg wash: 1 egg yolk + 30ml water whisked together
Preheat your oven to 190℃. Roll out the pastry and cut as large a circle from it as the diameter allows. Spread the cream cheese on the pastry, leaving a 3cm border on the outside. Place a pan on medium-high heat and fry the bacon pieces until cooked. Spoon into a bowl. Add the mushrooms and thyme leaves to the pan and fry until golden. Add the courgette sticks to the mushrooms and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Spoon into the bowl with the bacon and mix through. Now spoon this mixture onto the cream cheese. Fold the 3cm border of pastry over the filling and brush with the egg wash. Bake the galette for 40 minutes. Serve warm.
180g butter, melted 170g sugar 3 weet-bix bars, crushed or about 150g of crumbs/broken pieces 150g self-raising flour 85g desiccated coconut 2 x 395g cans condensed milk 310ml lemon juice (strained if using fresh) about 150g raspberries and blueberries
Preheat your oven to 170℃ and line a 20cm x 30cm oven tray with baking paper, allowing an overhang so that you can easily remove the fruit slices when set. Add the butter, sugar, weet-bix, flour and coconut to a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tray and smooth it out. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Add the condensed milk and lemon juice to a mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Scatter the raspberries and blueberries over the cooled base. Gently pour the condensed milk mixture over the fruit and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight before slicing into squares to serve. Keep refrigerated.
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Add the biscuits to the bowl of a food processor and process to crumbs. Whisk the egg white just until frothy and add it to the crumbs with the melted butter. Mix well until the mixture resembles wet sand. Tip the crumb-mixture into a loose-bottom tart tin and level it out. Use a glass with a flat bottom to press the crumb down firmly all over and up the sides of the tin. Keep pressing until the base comes together. Place the tart tin on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Add the cornstarch to a large mixing bowl and pour the water over. Mix to a smooth slurry. Add the egg yolks and whisk through. Pour the custard into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly and in a very thin stream, add it to the slurry while whisking continuously. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place it on medium heat while whisking until it thickens. Pour the filling into the cooled base and sprinkle with ground cinnamon. Refrigerate the milk tart for 3-4 hours before serving.
Filling: 100g butter 200g brown sugar 2 x 385g tins of condensed milk 7,5ml salt
Topping: 83ml cream 160g dark bitter chocolate, chopped
For the base: Preheat your oven to 160℃ and spray a 23cm loose base tart tin with cooking spray. Add the biscuits to the bowl of a food processor and process to fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and mix/blitz until the mixture looks like wet sand. Spoon the crumb mixture into the tart tin and press it firmly into the base and sides of the tin. Bake the tart base for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
For the filling: Add the butter to a saucepan and melt it over medium heat. Add the sugar and whisk to combine. Keep stirring the mixture with the whisk until the sugar has melted completely. Add the condensed milk and keep whisking to incorporate. Cook the caramel for about 5 minutes, taking that it doesn’t overheat and burn, and then add the salt. Pour the mixture into the tart case and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Take the tart from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
For the topping: Add the cream and chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over simmering water. Stir the mixture every now and then until smooth and completely melted. Take the bowl from the heat and allow to stand for about 10 minutes. Give it a stir every now and then so that it cools down. Spoon the chocolate onto the caramel layer and spread it evenly with a spatula. Refrigerate the tart for 2 hours to set. Allow the tart to come to room temperature before serving.
My Whisk and I 